Meditation and its history go back a thousand years. The Zen/Chan, Buddhist, and Hindu communities practiced meditation for a lot of years to deal with stress and anxiety. The practice is so ancient but is still common all over the world as it has proven to be very beneficial for the mental health and overall welfare of the human body. With the invention of modern technology, scientists and scholars continue to research further into what other ways meditation helps people and how. There are a lot of meditation benefits.
The practice of using physical and mental techniques to clear and focus your mind is called meditation. Certain ways of meditation can help a person lessen their stress and anxiety and help them relax. It can also help individuals to improve their living standards and help them quit addictions.
Meditation Techniques
Meditation consists of techniques that help to improve attention, kindness, sympathetic joy, mental calmness, and awareness even in stressful situations. The elements required for meditation stated by the National Institute of Health are four. A location that is quiet and has as less distractions as possible, a comfortable position may it be walking, lying down, or sitting, something to focus the attention on (it may be an object, a set of words, or sensing your breathing), and a carefree attitude that doesn’t let distractions distract or judge them.
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Reduction in stress
The most common reason for which people start meditating is stress reduction. The physical and mental stress originates higher levels of cortisol which is a stress hormone. This produces a lot of destructive effects of stress like the release of cytokines which is an inflammatory chemical. It can cause increased blood pressure, anxiety depression, and cloudy thinking.
A style of meditation called ‘mindfulness causes a reduction in the stress that causes inflammation response. It also improves the indications of conditions related to stress.
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Control Anxiety
Meditation reduces anxiety and helps lessen the anxiety. A study that included 1,300 individuals found that anxiety is decreased by reflection. The effect notably was stronger in people with the highest anxiety levels. It also results in higher stress coping and reactivity mechanisms and positive self-statements. Another meta-analysis with 47 adults with extreme pain discovered that a meditation program of 8 weeks led to a noticeable development in anxiety and depression over a year.
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Meditation Promotes emotional health
Meditation has proven to help improve a positive self-image and an improved outlook on life. E.g. a review of treatments given to people proved that people who did meditation exercises had fewer negative thoughts when viewing negative images as compared to people who did not. Also, the chemicals like cytokines which are inflammatory chemicals released as a stress response can have an extremely negative effect on mood and lead to depression. A review also suggested that it decreases the release of inflammatory chemicals hence decreasing depression.
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Increases attention span
Focused attention is practiced to increase the attention span which is like weight lifting for your nervous system. According to a study people who listened to the meditation tape had enhanced accuracy and attention. While doing a task as compared to those who did not.
Even short periods are beneficial. Mediating for just 15 minutes daily can improve memory and attention after 8 weeks.
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Meditation helps in fighting addictions
The discipline you develop mentally by meditation. It can help a person break a pattern of dependency by enhancing the awareness and self-control of the triggers for addictions.
According to research people who meditate might learn to transmit their attention keep their impulses and emotions in control and manage the understanding of the reason behind it.
Research on 60 people getting alcoholism treatment found that practicing meditation was connected with lesser alcohol cravings and lesser use after 3 months.
